Exercise as Meditation

Dear Fabulous Traveler,

It's time to go beyond running. You’re close to reaching the first level of mastery, when exercising becomes something you find necessary, not something you have to force yourself to do. Once running or exercising becomes a habit, you will no longer need to focus so much on the activity itself; you can direct your mental energy to building a practice of mindfulness.

From Physical to Mental

Exercising is a great opportunity to practice your mental control. As you start running, try to empty your mind and focus solely on your breathing. Practice this during each of your runs. The first few times your mind might wander. You might begin to stress about how hard you find it to clear your mind. A true athlete still experiences distractions but will adopt a position of openness, gently accepting each thought and then confidently letting it go.

You’re going to add one new habit to help you with mindful running: a breathing technique. Learning how to breathe properly is important and will help improve all aspects of your exercise practice from preparation to cool-down.

The breath-boxing technique you will do this week has four steps: inhale, retain, exhale, and sustain. You can use this technique to mentally prepare yourself for the exercise to come, and you can also practice it just after exercising to calm your heart rate.

You'll receive a motivator with more information about this new breathing technique. It will help you run better, reduce stress, and eliminate any soreness you may be experiencing in your upper body after a run.

Running is meditation, running is life.

This Week’s Plan

Your one-time action

Add one new habit before the Exercise Ritual: Breathe.

This week, before starting your exercise session, take five minutes for this breathing exercise:

• Inhale for four seconds
• Retain for four seconds
• Exhale for four seconds
• Sustain for four seconds

This will help you calm your mind and prepare you for your next journey. Control of the breath will pave the way to controlling your mind and stress. This breathing exercise declares to your mind that you will now focus on staying mindful during your exercise session.

Your goal

This week, you’re going to reach a new milestone: if you’re running, increase the time you run before you walk or stop. Listen to the Runner's Realm 5 for extra inspiration this week. If you’re exercising, exercise for a longer period or more intensely. Make a more difficult goal for yourself. Always strive to improve.

During each exercise session, keep your focus on your breath and try not to be distracted by passing thoughts. Imagine that your thoughts are like clouds passing by the mountain of your mind. The clouds touch the mountain briefly and then move on. The mountain does not judge them, resist them, or follow them. When you’re able to focus on your breath and let your thoughts float by freely, neither avoiding nor pursuing them, your mind will become serene.

Looking ahead

You’re now one week away from your ultimate goal, what you’ve been building towards for the last eight weeks.

Get yourself mentally ready, Fabulous Traveler.